The Dangerous Art of Falling in Love
by mrsloki
Summary: This is a follow up to Loki's First Love, but can also be read separately :-) In this story, Loki's plan from the first story goes ahead, but this time Black Widow is assigned by Fury to find out what it is and put a stop to it, but will the pair of them be able to deny the strong feelings that soon arise?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Natasha Romanoff looked at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced at what she saw. Her cut above her eye was healing, but her black eye still remained from her mission last weekend. She sighed and put a thin layer of makeup on before getting dressed and ready to go into SHIELD.

When she entered the workplace, she passed her co-workers but was too tired to even acknowledge them. She kept her head down as she made her way to Fury's office but was knocked down when she smacked straight into someone.

"Sorry Tash!" Clint Barton said, bending down to help her up.

"No it's my fault Clint, sorry I wasn't watching where I was going." She smiled at him weakly as he beamed back at her. She knew Clint still had feelings for her, but their previous romantic relationship had come to an end when they realised it was too dangerous, especially in their line of work.

"Well, thanks." She said, and ducked around him quickly as she continued on her way. She knocked on the hard wood door of her boss and swung it open when she heard the "Come in." Natasha met Fury's eyes – well, the one that wasn't obscured by an eye patch – and sat in front of his desk.

"I'm here to receive my mission sir." She said to him.

"Ah, yes. Loki." He said, his eyes angry but amused.

"I'm… sorry?" she asked tentatively. "Loki?"

"Yes, Loki. I'm sorry to say he's back and has been messing up my work again," he sighed, "you may have heard by now about the event that happened the other week?"

"With the um… vampire, sir?" she asked. She couldn't help wanting to burst out laughing. That was just what she had heard. Vampires weren't real! However, her amused feelings where cut short when he said,

"Yes, that incident. No, it was not exaggerated." stony faced. "Loki came in to the headquarters in an attempt to rescue the creature. But she was too much of a threat to the people of the city, picking people off for meals left right and centre. However, he managed to escape and now I fear he may be biding his time and waiting. Everyone involved in the Avenger's Initiative is well aware of how short tempered he is. Your mission is to locate him and put a stop to whatever it is he's planning to do. If you need him, Stark can be of assistance as can any agent here at SHIELD. Would you like to work alone or with your partner Barton?" he asked. There was a minute or so of amazed silence as Natasha absorbed that. But being Natasha, she just shook her head and said,

"Alone."

"Very well. Here is the folder with all of the details. We're giving you a time frame to prevent his crazy ass plan if he has one of one month. Good luck Natasha."

"Sir." With that, she rose and left his office.

Natasha collapsed on her couch after reading the file on her way back from work. She rubbed her forehead as she considered Loki. Her mind had occasionally wandered back to him from time to time after the events of the Avengers Initiative and she had wondered about him. He was very good looking despite how obviously insane he was. She shook her head. But he was pure evil and again needed to be stopped. Just then her phone rang, making her jump. Annoyed at herself, she answered and snapped,

"Yes?"

"Natasha, it's Clint. Fury just informed me you've asked to do your next mission alone. I was wondering why." His voice was hurt with an edge of annoyance.

"This is complicated Clint, but nothing I can't handle myself. If I need help, of course you will be the first one I call." And with that, she snapped the phone shut, not bothering to argue with him tonight.

As she got up and moved towards the bedroom, the back of her neck began to prickle. She was being watched. She halted as she heard a familiar voice from the doorway of her apartment:

"Heard you're looking for me."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Natasha froze and turned slowly to look at the intruder. Of course it was Loki. She gasped a little at seeing him again after such a long time and being reminded of how stunning he was. He sauntered out of the shadows of the room to stand opposite her well aware of why she audibly gasped, with his trademark smirk on his face. She noticed that it didn't quite reach his eyes though, and decided to save that question for after she had gained his trust. It was going to be difficult.

"Technically I hadn't started the search." She said dryly. "Is there a point of me asking how you know?"

"Not really." He laughed. "I'm a demigod, there's enough explanation for you."

"Mmm." She nodded and eyed him wearily. "What are you doing back here Loki?" she tried.

"That's for me to know and for you… to dot dot dot." He said with a mischievous grin. Man, he was hot. She looked away before a blush could rise to her cheeks.

"I tell you what Loki. I'm tired and irritable and need sleep. However, I would love to be able to find you again tomorrow?" she asked. He nodded and when she blinked, he had disappeared. She yawned and made her way into her bedroom, falling asleep before her head hit the pillow.

"Nice work Darcy." Loki said approvingly, his voice echoing in the huge deserted warehouse. He strolled casually down the hundreds of aisles of Iron Men costumes Pepper Potts had created for him. Well, she had only made one – after Colonel Rhodes had died wearing their only suit, they had taken it back after leaving his body in the street, made some adjustments and multiplied them. Now hundreds of Iron Men robots sat waiting for their first command to start up, all programmed with one aim – kill and destroy. All programmed with one prioritised aim – kill and destroy Tony Stark, for destroying the one thing Loki had and loved – Jenna. Darcy laughed in happiness.

"Jane could never have imagined my abilities. Now they're being used for a good cause. You're so inspirational Loki." She sighed, smiling at him.

"Why thank you. How many more will we have by tomorrow?" he asked shortly.

"Twenty five." She replied.

"Brilliant."

Natasha woke up to the sun streaming through her window hot and bright and blinked away sleep before rising and making her way to the kitchen. When she opened the bedroom door however, she was hit with the strong scent of bacon and stopped, instantly alert. She looked across the room to the kitchen and saw Loki leaning against the doorframe, plate in hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I find you… intriguing." He replied, "and you need breakfast." He gestured to a plate on the table at the side of the room. She walked past him, watching him the whole journey and plopped down on the seat before eating the delicious food set out for her.

Loki cocked an eyebrow as he watched her. It was the truth, she did intrigue him. But he also wanted to know why she was looking for him, or had been about to start. He couldn't watch her all the time, only when he wasn't busy putting the plan into action with Darcy. Soon after the events with Jenna, he had made his way back to Stark Tower to tell Pepper to say nothing to Tony, or both of them would die. She had kept her word so far. So had Darcy, but he wasn't sure whether it was completely just to spite Jane. He watched her delicate frame as she chewed and wondered about her. He had noticed her of course when he was on Earth the first time, but seeing as they'd been attempting to kill each other, it hadn't left that much room for socialising. She was beautiful though – her pale flawless skin and full red lips, the way her red hair fell in soft curls down her back and her brilliant green eyes closed as she moaned at how good the food was. He suddenly realised he was staring with a soft smile and quickly shook himself before speaking.

"We have a busy day today Miss Romanoff." He said smoothly.

"We do?" she asked with her mouth full.

"Yes." He said, "I assume that due to the fact that you were looking for me, you are no longer so dedicated to Fury?" of course he did not believe this, but he was intending to show her his robots anyway. It wouldn't matter when she was being held captive while the plan was being executed either way really.

"You assume correct." She said. He nodded curtly and cleared his throat, and strode back into the kitchen while she finished her morning meal.

Soon they were speeding through town in a shiny black convertible, courtesy of Loki of course. Natasha was obviously enjoying the feel on the wind in her hair and Loki grinned when he realised this. This one of the few situations in life when a person could feel truly free. As they pulled into a parking lot his phone rang. He answered it quickly,

"Yes?"

"Sir?" came Darcy's voice. He inwardly sighed. Now that he himself had experienced love, he could identify someone who was infatuated with him and it unfortunately happened to be Darcy. _You would much rather it was Natasha wouldn't you?_ His mind whispered traitorously. He ignored it and said,

"What?"

"The robots have been completed, another batch are being mobilised."

"Excellent thank you"

"Are you um… coming in any time to see me today?" she asked nervously. _As if I come in to see you. I come to see the robots. _His mind thought with a snort.

"I can't today, I'm out with a certain Miss Romanoff who I have promised a fun day of thrills and fun." And with that, he snapped the phone shut. Natasha was watching him with an amused expression.

"What?" he asked self consciously, surprising himself.

"Oh nothing, I just didn't think that a demigod had need for something so trivial and human as a mobile phone." She laughed, and climbed out of the car, whipping her bouncy red hair behind her. She really stood out in her black tank top and red skirt, gaining herself a lot of admirable looks from men passing by, all of which she ignored. Loki didn't know why he was gaining satisfaction from her blatant disregard of them. He followed suit and snaked an arm around her waist, before leading her into a café for a quick lunch.

Natasha tingled at his touch, the feel of his arm encircling her. It was strange, feeling so safe when wrapped in the arm of a man she was so sure was evil. When they had ordered their food and settled down, she met his gaze and said,

"So what happened?"

He frowned.

"What happened with what?" he asked.

"The vampire." She said it so boldly, so sure nothing could affect this man that she was surprised when he visibly flinched and winced, like she'd slapped him across the face. "What is it?" she asked genuinely concerned.

"What did Fury tell you of her?" he whispered.

Natasha looked at him with wide confused eyes.

"He just said that you had tried to rescue her when she was captured and that she had been captured because of all the lives she took. I just assumed that you had tried to rescue her because she was an asset to some plan or other of yours. But that's not the case is it…?"

"No." he said, avoiding her eyes, "that wasn't the case at all. I… I loved her. Very much. I didn't find out until an hour or so before she was murdered that she was a vampire, although I had obviously realised there was something strange about her personality…" he said, continuing to look down. "Stark captured her for SHIELD and she was staked by the agents at the base."

Natasha remained in stunned silence. No wonder Fury hadn't told her everything. The truth made her favour Loki's side of things much more than Fury's… and Stark? Why would he have done such a thing. Remorse flooded through her for finally realising why his smile didn't touch his eyes and what had really happened. She soon excused herself for the bathroom to give him a little bit of time.

When Natasha vacated the table, Loki stared out of the window. What he had gone through, living so alone for most of his life, not thinking he was capable of love and then to finally experience it for what felt like a second before having it cruelly ripped away from him had broken him. He had vowed never to love again, never to feel those kind of feelings for anyone again. Not just because he felt it would insult Jenna's memory, the woman who had told him she had loved him and promised to spend an eternity with him right before being murdered, but because he no longer believed he could. He was numb to those things now. But when he had seen Natasha this morning… every time he looked at her a shot of adrenaline would course through him but because of his past experiences, he pushed them away. She returned to the table and the mood lightened immediately, but with his mind still away, wondering if Natasha could possibly bring back the side of him that was dead.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

For the remainder of the day, Loki took Natasha all over New York City, sight-seeing. Of course they had both seen the sights before, but on a sunny day with each other, it was much more fun. They stopped every now and then to get a snack or a drink before continuing their tour of the city that never sleeps.

Arriving back at Natasha's apartment just as the sun was setting and the air was beginning to get colder, Loki walked her up to her apartment, the pair still laughing about a joke they had shared in the car. When they got to the door, they both stopped and Loki watched her as she looked up at him under her thick eyelashes.

"Thank you for such a great day. Will you come in?" she asked. Loki thought he detected a note of hopefulness in there, although it may have just been his imagination. He nodded and she smiled as she unlocked the door, let them both in and flicked on the lights. As they settled down to watch TV, they laughed and found out more about the other. Natasha was to find out so many things about Loki that she would never have thought. She was so _sure _that he was evil. And not totally knowing what she was doing, just knowing she wanted to do it, she laid her head on his chest and they sat in silence watching the TV. It was a perfect moment and Loki enjoyed the feel of her soft hair under his chin, the scent of her everywhere around him. He smiled and closed his eyes, but Jenna flashed before them. He was up from the sofa so fast she knocked her head off the arm rest.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly. "I have to go." And he turned on his heel and walked out of the apartment.

"But…" Natasha trailed off as she watched him go and the door swing shut behind him. She looked at the floor than at the TV, before switching it off and making her way to bed, where she lay wide awake for hour before she eventually found rest.

Loki strode through the streets under the street lamps, creating a long slender shadow across the walls. He stalked towards the warehouse where he knew Darcy had gone from, so he had it to himself. It was more or less where he lived anyway when he was down here on Earth. He had been sick of pretty much living in bars during the Jenna period of his life so when he had decided to go ahead with the plan, he had just moved into the base of operations. He closed his eyes for a moment as he walked, thinking about what had just happened. He was ashamed and disappointed that he had left that scene with Natasha. He had wanted it so dearly, but Jenna… how could he do that to Jenna? He knew she was gone but it still felt like unfaithfulness to him. He felt terrible about just springing up and leaving without any explanation for Natasha. But most of all, he felt terrible about the hurt look on her face before he had turned and walked from the room. He entered the dark and freezing cold warehouse, crossed the room and laid in his makeshift bed, but it was hours before he slept.

Natasha hadn't seen Loki for almost a week now and was starting to get worried. She was worried about the timeframe Fury had given her to complete the mission but primarily was worried about Loki himself. Since their tender moment on the couch which she wasn't even sure was the best idea, she couldn't stop thinking about him. The way her head had rested on his muscled chest. That was the best thing about Loki to her – he was muscled and strong but it wasn't obvious, making him the perfect blend of tall, slender, and muscled. She remembered his long fingers around her waist when he had steered her into the café and was surprised when a shot of achiness went through her body. It disappeared as quickly as it had come. _What the hell was that? _She thought to herself. But she knew. _You miss him _her mind whispered, _you miss him and you're falling for him. _She sat for a while staring out of her window thinking this realisation over and then shut her eyes. _I can't. He won't feel the same way, and everything I've ever thought about him was that he was evil. I grew up and am trained for fighting against people like him. _One side of her mind said. But the other retaliated with _but you know now that most of things you have ever known about him are wrong. He's made some huge mistakes but doesn't everyone? He's just like you in a way Natasha. He's an outsider too, looking for someone to care for him. And he didn't say no when you laid on his chest last week… _she shook her head quickly with a whimper. She was over thinking things and it had begun to hurt. Natasha was rational but she'd never felt this way about a man before, not even when she was with Clint. That sounded bad but she'd never had these feelings of missing him when he was not there or reliving memories in her head. Especially not fighting with herself about a man's past and where she desperately wanted the situation to go. Because she realised now, after the war in her head, that she was falling for Loki and she wanted to be with him. _But is it the right decision? _

Loki stretched. It had been a week since he had seen his gorgeous redhead. But he didn't want to bother her; he didn't want to seem like a lost puppy. He wanted to play it cool. _I wonder if she thinks about me too…? I wonder what it would feel like to kiss-_

"Loki!" Loki growled at the interruption of his inner monologue but turned anyway.

"What?" he snapped. Darcy was running around the robots to get to him. The way Darcy acted around him – that's exactly what he didn't want to act like around Natasha.

"Heeeeeey." She said in a sing song voice, stressing the vowel in a way that made Loki subtly clench his teeth in annoyance.

"What do you want Darcy?" he asked. She looked a little dismayed.

"We have two days left to wait until activation sir. We just have one more batch of twenty five to create and then a day to let them all charge up. Wouldn't want them running out halfway through the murder of Tony Stark!" he didn't return her smile.

"Have you ever thought that maybe we shouldn't have done this?" he asked her quietly. "That maybe we could try to be good people? Just give it a try." To his surprise, Darcy's face became outraged.

"Don't you _dare _tell me you're getting cold feet!" she said with a raised voice. "I have put too much work into this and you have done too much planning to duck out now! I have to gain what I should have gotten a long time ago from people like Jane – respect. The realisation that I can do something great and greater than anyone else can!" Loki just looked down and didn't reply. Darcy looked him up and down before outrage then turned to disgust and said,

"It's Natasha isn't it? She's the one who's making you think twice."

"No, no of course not. It was a momentary lapse in judgement. Never mind." At his denial of this, Darcy visibly relaxed.

"Well then," she said, "let's get to creating the final batch!" Loki smiled weakly and said,

"I'll be back soon, there's something I need to do first."

Natasha was eating a bowl of noodles when the doorbell went. She rolled her eyes at the interruption and swung open the door with irritation that quickly turned to joy.

"Loki!" she exclaimed, before realising how widely she was smiling and how excited she sounded. She cleared her throat and gave him a smile.

"Hey." He said, returning it. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, what took you so damn long?" she asked, winking.

"Evil plans to carry out and all that." He replied and did something he hadn't done since he was a boy – he stuck his tongue out at her. She giggled and he smiled fondly at the sound. It sounded like bells, it was beautiful. She covered her mouth as she laughed with one of her petite hands, and he reached out and took the other one. She stopped laughing immediately and looked shocked. He couldn't tell if there was a trace of happiness in her expression too, so he let go and cleared his thought. But she smiled and took his hand, leading him further into the apartment. He smiled when she wasn't looking, content with how the situation had panned out. She flopped down on the sofa and he followed suit, looking at her. She smiled and said,

"Let's try this again shall we?" and he nodded in agreement. He made himself comfortable, sprawling out across the sofa and she again rested her head on his chest, and switched on the TV.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Natasha woke up still lying on Loki. She smiled to herself when she realised he had stayed with her, and laid there simply listening to his soft snores. She shifted slightly and unintentionally woke him up.

"Are you aware that you are stunning?" he asked. She smiled, looking at the floor then raising her eyes to meet his.

"Are you aware you are a smooth talker?" she said, cocking an eyebrow. He chuckled and stroked her hair.

"Good morning sunshine." He said.

"Mmm, that was a good way to wake up." She sighed happily and they stared at each other. His face filled her vision and she leaned forward, as did he. Their breath mingled together and then –

His phone rang.

She smiled and made a throaty sound of disappointment.

He sighed and snapped,

"What?!" into the phone, a mixture of annoyance and desperation at the interruption. His not bothering to hide his irritation made Natasha smile hopefully to herself. Darcy's whiney voice could be heard in Loki's ear:

"Lokiiiii! You said you were going to come back? You've been gone all night! I have important news!" Loki didn't even bother to apologise.

"What is it?"

"My guess as to how long it would take for the robots to charge wasn't as short as I'd hoped. They won't be ready until tonight."

"Okay not a problem." He said shortly, and hung up. He got up and shrugged on his coat.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked. She hated the hurt in her voice but couldn't keep it out.

He smiled. "To get us some freshly baked breakfast." He winked, kissed her hand and left. She sighed again contentedly and rose to her feet. She gracefully glided around her apartment cleaning up here and there when there was a loud knocking on the door. That wasn't Loki.

Natasha cautiously approached the door, the knocking becoming louder and more insistent. She drew a gun slowly in case it was required and flung open the door, aiming the gun as she did so. What she saw made her lower the gun in relief. It was just Clint leaning against the doorframe grinning. But something was wrong. He was wearing sunglasses. Indoors? On a rainy day? He was grinning stupidly too… then it reached her. The unmistakable aroma of stale alcohol filled her nose and she wrinkled it, trying to shut the door on him. However, her efforts were unsuccessful – he shoved his arm into the door, preventing it from closing on him, and entered the room through the gap he had created. She watched him the whole way and began to protest:

"No no no. You're drunk Clint, go home, get some sleep and clean yourself up. It's ten o clock in the morning for goodness sake!"

He just stumbled over to the counter and leant against it. He completely ignored her as he smiled and said

"What happened to us Tasha? We were great together. We could've had so much."

"Clint, you know fine well why we broke up. It was too dangerous and frankly, looking back on it now, I didn't feel that strongly. I'm sorry." She threw up her hands in resignation and put her hand on her hip as she looked at him. "Now please go home. I care about you and this isn't helping you at all." He advanced towards her and she walked backwards, but panicked when she found herself up against a wall. He kept walking towards her and slammed his hand on the wall to the right of her head. Then he placed his other hand at the small of her back and forced her body towards his, and kissed her. She protested with her mouth and tried to turn her head away but he forced her to stay where she was. Just then, the door opened and she turned her head in desperation to see Loki at the door. She just caught the hurt and betrayal on his face before it turned to outrage when he realised that what was happening before his eyes was not Natasha's fault, or what she wanted. He stormed forward and pulled Clint off of her with a snarl. He may not have looked it, but he was a lot stronger than Clint. He threw him to the floor and looked at him with fury before spitting:

"Get out and never let me see your face again."

With anyone else, Clint would have laughed and threw himself into the fight. But this was Loki, a demigod who was furious that this puny human had made a move on the woman he was falling for. As Clint scrambled to his feet Loki's eyes grew wide with realisation. He had said he never would again. But he was. He was falling for Natasha. He watched Clint almost sprint from the apartment and turned to face her. He knew it wasn't her fault, and he wasn't angry at her at all. Just stunned that he had realised he was falling in love with her. She started a stream of apologies immediately but he cut them off with a wave of his hand, shushing her and pulling her into a hug. He closed his eyes as he rested his head on top of hers, telling her he knew it wasn't her fault. Then she started to cry, and he took her to the bedroom, where he cuddled her on the bed whilst she cried into his shoulder.

When Natasha had fallen asleep after crying for hours, Loki stayed there for the rest of the day. Then she woke still encircled in his arm and immediately looked up at him. He smiled at her and whispered:

"I have something to tell you."

She smiled, "Tell me something."

He didn't hesitate; he was so sure of this.

"I love you." She sat up in his arm.

"Really?" she whispered back.

"Really." He confirmed, smiling. He stroked a curl back behind her ears and her face split into a grin.

"I love you, too." She said. Jenna flashed before his eyes but in that moment he realised that she wouldn't have wanted him to mope. She was always so full of life, and she'd want him to be too. There was no point exacting revenge for her death, Natasha had changed his mind. He wanted to be a good guy for her sake. And in that moment, and doubt about his feelings for Natasha that still lingered were gone, and he leaned down to kiss her full lips for the first time, but just before his lips touched hers, the most unexpected person burst in through the door – Darcy. He looked up in annoyance at her as she stood there looking heartbroken.

"What, Darcy? What? What the hell are you doing here?!" he said incredulously.

"They're ready to go sir!" she said hysterically.

"Wha-what are ready to go…?" Natasha asked cautiously.

"It doesn't matter." Loki said shortly. "Mission aborted Darcy, I don't want to hurt anyone anymore." Realisation dawned on Natasha.

"You were going to kill Stark won't you?" she said, just as Darcy screamed,

"NO! You can't tell me what to do anymore you asshole! I love you Loki! I love you and you love that – that bitch! What are you doing? You should love ME! I've done so, so much for you Loki!" Loki gasped in confusion at what was happening and said

"Yes Natasha, but you changed my mind I want to be good! Good for_ you_." He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Natasha looked down but said,

"I believe you." Darcy shrieked in annoyance.

"I'm sorry Loki, but I can't let you ruin everything we've ever worked for!" and pushed the activation button.


End file.
